Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition Releasing March 6

While one might have predicted that Final Fantasy XV would have run its course after almost eighteen months, it's clear that Square Enix want to be able to operate the game much like an MMO, with new revisions coming frequently for the foreseeable future. We've covered in the past that the game has plans going out through all of 2018, but a number of new announcements were made today with specifics for the first quarter of this year.

While we've known since last August that XV was being ported for Windows on Steam, today we got a launch trailer and system specs for the release, as well as a date: March 6. As one might suspect, if you want this game in 4K, you're going to need a serious Windows rig, including a GTX 1080 Ti. Also worth noting for some folks is that the game isn't Steam-only now; the launch trailer also confirms that the game will be available via Origin - the first Final Fantasy game to show up on that network.

For those who don't already have the game on console, March 6 will also debut the Royal Edition of the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The Royal Edition will actually be the same game released for Windows, as it will contain the standard game, all current DLC, and a number of new options:

Expanded Crown City Map with a new challenge dungeon and boss fights

Control over the party's boat, allowing for shoreline exploration and new fishing spots

A new accessory unlocking a new Armiger ability

First-person mode

New cosmetic items

New quest for Regalia upgrades

More worldbuilding content in findable items and conversations

Anyone who does already have the game can purchase the new content via DLC for $19.99 on March 6, but I'm not yet sure if that actually will contain all previous DLC or just the new items in Royal Edition.

In the meantime, console gamers will get a free DLC update next week. The big news there is that Aranea will be available as a sparring partner at camp, which could be fun for a time. There will also be a "standby" option at camp, though it's not clear what that means exactly, and new shop items at the trading post in Altissia. There will also be the usual bug fixes and minor updates.

In short, it sounds to me like March 6 is going to be the time to try out XV if you've been waiting; or, if you have been resisting buying anything but the base game, it might just be time to dust it off and pick back up. If that $20 price tag is essentially the "GOTY" version that rolls up everything released so far, that's a pretty great deal.

Yeah, I got it about two weeks after release when Amazon somehow ended up with a bunch of overstock of European-packaged games and blew them out. It was perfect for me because I had barely unboxed my PS4 when I made the order.

If that $20 does include all the previous episodes, I feel really bad for the folks who bought them a la carte; however, if that's the case, I am thrilled for my own luck.

I'm looking forward to FFXVI to being half a game's storyline and the rest DLC. /sarcasm

But seriously, DLC is a double edged sword. On one hand they have the opportunity to finish content that in the past would have been cut completely (hi, original FFIV release). On the other hand, they can just charge extra money for bits of storyline that are really important, and I think fans do deserve a complete game, especially when they wait for these titles for many years. If it's just one or two things I guess that's okay, but I fear that this practice can spin out of control really easily if money talks.

Quote (Rangers51 @ 17th January 2018 15:10)

If that $20 does include all the previous episodes, I feel really bad for the folks who bought them a la carte; however, if that's the case, I am thrilled for my own luck.

On the one hand, it's great that they are continuing to support and expand the game, including in part by trying to fill in the gaps/incomplete content that existed on original release due to what was clearly a hastily pushed through release schedule (partially understandable given 10 years in development hell).

On the other hand, it's quite the slap in the face to the early adopters/loyal fans/people who made the game successful enough to financially justify the additional content. I bought the game on release, and bought the season pass with it (which I think cost me £25? - more than $20, for sure). If it turns out that I got an incomplete product for more money, when I could have waited to get it all in one go for less, I'll be pretty peeved. As it is, I'm quite saddened that I had already played and completed the story by the time they started filling in all this missing plot detail in earlier chapters - as I haven't revisited them due to time constraints. So in effect I have experienced an inferior version of the story - a story which, I should add, I really loved and wanted so badly to be complete.

If it turns out that I got an incomplete product for more money, when I could have waited to get it all in one go for less, I'll be pretty peeved. As it is, I'm quite saddened that I had already played and completed the story by the time they started filling in all this missing plot detail in earlier chapters - as I haven't revisited them due to time constraints. So in effect I have experienced an inferior version of the story - a story which, I should add, I really loved and wanted so badly to be complete.

I feel you to an extent on that, but I kind of look at this as being the "GOTY" version of the game, which it seems like every game has now. Perhaps a better term would be "Director's Cut." It DOES suck to have to pay multiple times for things, but unfortunately that is always the price of the early adopter nowadays, it seems.

That said, I never thought that anything tied to the main thrust of the game should ever be paid DLC. Even the Episodes were a bit of a stretch for me, and that's why I've not bought them heretofore.

Well, we did already have FFXIII which is a third of a game's storyline...

I don't really consider FFXIII to be the same situation. The first game stood just fine on it's own and I think it's fair to say it was a game with a complete story. By the same token, just because FFX had a sequel doesn't mean that FFX was half a game's storyline.

However, FFXIII-2 partially fits your description with it's major plot holes and important DLC. Lightning Returns did not make sense without the "Requiem of a Goddess" DLC featured in the second game.

(But if this is too heavy a digression from the main topic, I'd be happy to continue a discussion about this elsewhere.)